Contrarian Corpus
activist letter follow up
2019-01-07 · 3 pages

QEP Resources, Inc. QEP

QEP's core-of-the-core Permian assets are stranded in a broken public-company wrapper; Elliott offers $8.75/share cash — a 44% premium — to deliver certain value through sale.

N 3 Narrative
V 1 Visual
C 1 Craft
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Thesis

Elliott, one of QEP Resources' largest shareholders, writes to the Board proposing to acquire 100% of QEP for $8.75 per share in cash — a 44% premium to the January 4, 2019 close. Since early 2018, Elliott has engaged constructively with management and supported the divestitures of the Williston and Haynesville assets that transitioned QEP into a pure-play Permian operator. Despite that progress, Elliott argues QEP's stock still trades well below intrinsic value and shareholders are frustrated, making a sale the surest path to realize the worth of its core-of-the-core Permian positions. Backed by ~$35 billion of capital, Elliott says it can finance the deal through cash, assumed debt, and third-party lenders, complete confirmatory diligence on an expedited basis, and urges the Board to retain advisors and form a strategic review committee to run a sale process.

SCQA

Situation

QEP Resources is an E&P company that has divested its Williston and Haynesville assets to become a pure-play Permian operator, holding core-of-the-core positions in premium basins after year-long constructive engagement with Elliott.

Complication

Despite the portfolio transformation, QEP's shares still trade well below intrinsic value, its public-company investment has not worked, and shareholders are frustrated — asset quality is not reflected in the market price.

Resolution

Elliott proposes to acquire 100% of QEP for $8.75 per share in cash, urging the Board to retain advisors, form a strategic review committee, and open a Permian data room for expedited diligence.

Reward

The all-cash bid delivers a 44% premium to the January 4, 2019 closing price with far greater certainty than QEP remaining an under-appreciated publicly traded company.

The three reasons

  1. 1

    QEP remains deeply undervalued despite transition to pure-play Permian

  2. 2

    $8.75 cash bid is a 44% premium to the January 4, 2019 close

  3. 3

    Sale delivers certainty versus risks of remaining a public company

Primary demands

  • Sale of the Company at $8.75 per share in all-cash transaction
  • Board to retain well-regarded advisors
  • Form a strategic review committee of the Board to oversee the process
  • Immediately assemble a data room for the Permian assets
  • Grant Elliott access to management for expedited confirmatory diligence

KPIs cited

Offer price per share
$8.75 per share in all-cash transaction
Premium to market
44% premium over January 4, 2019 closing stock price
Elliott capital under management
~$35 billion AUM, more than adequate to consummate the acquisition

Pattern membership

Where this document fits across the library's 12 rhetorical / structural patterns.

Notable slides (2)

Notes

Three-page Word-style letter on Elliott letterhead, signed by portfolio managers John Pike and Andrew Taylor. Notable as an escalation — Elliott moves from engagement to a formal unsolicited bid while preserving a collaborative tone (thanking CEO 'Chuck' and incoming CEO Tim Cutt). No charts, no valuation math; the argument rests on the 44% premium and certainty-of-close framing. No stake percentage disclosed beyond 'one of the largest shareholders'. Includes standard non-binding legal boilerplate.